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Bakur tried to speak, but couldn't find the words. He found it hard to tell if he was actually making sounds or not when he couldn't hear them. It all seemed like some strange nightmare: plumes of fire, collapsing buildings, Kiph's bizzare and disturbing behavior, the sustained alien silence. If only I could wake, he mused in his head.

He noticed the rest of the crew and Jonathan suddenly looking alert and concerned. It surely meant something terrible was about to happen. Not good, he said, or perhaps thought; it was hard to tell the difference now. Instinctively, Bakur armed himself with Siful'lahal. Perhaps whoever these demons are will wake me, he thought with a strange sense of humor. Bakur could feel his jugular pulse quickly beneath his muscled neck. The feeling was coming on, probably from the panic and adrenaline. If a battle really was about to ensue... Bakur quickly shut that thought out of his mind. No use mulling it over. Whatever was about to happen, would happen. Lahal watch over us, he prayed.

Ralkhara decided he did not like Jonathan. If for no other reason than because he was withholding information from him. With a grunt, he continued along the passage, withdrawn. Then...

... Ah. it was Kiph and Bakur. Ralkhara peered strangely at Kiph, and narrowed his eyes slightly - Kiphs mouth and chin was covered with blood. What had he been up to while Ralkhara was absent?While the others attempted communication (As it appeared the two had lost their hearing), Ralkhara studied his surroundings. His eyes fell on the corpse which the Badblood and Bakur were crouched over, and he studied like he would study a page, trying to read how this man fell. He had only half a minute to examine the surroundings before his ears twitched, and he peered down the dark passageway which led further into the tunnels, and frowned. "Something..." Ralkhara stood and unlooped his crossbow from his belt before nudging both of the hard-of-hearing men and showing them that he was nocking an arrow, before pointing into the blackness ahead.

They could avoid this situation altogether and go back out... but Ralkhara was unconvinced that the danger was over above. He didn't want to go out unless there were no other way.

<<Mmm. A quick spot hidden check to see if there's any other info/items Ralkhara can see in the general area - perhaps on the corpse? And then readying his weapon for an attack.>>

Ralkhara squatted, studying the corpse and their surroundings. The poor man had probably died quick, but the nomad could not help but wonder about the savage intensity with which the man had been killed. The cuts were at least two inches deep and spanning the entire width of his chest and appendages, suggesting fierce strength and brutality. Then there was the face; whatever had killed him had eaten from his body, suggesting animal or cannibal opponents.

But the Warden has forbidden pets such as these inside the city. The only creatures capable of this kind of action must be some sort of wastelander cannibals, wastelander beasts or mutated monstrosities. There were hunter-killer mutant beasts captured inside the storage facility, and possibly some of the resident wastelanders were not completely honest about their preferred diet when checking in with the town watch, but this… I just don’t know.

The only other thing of note was two columns of niches in the tunnel wall, forming regular hand and footholds for anyone wanting up. Waving his flashlight, Ralkhara noticed a circular hatch, probably leading to the surface.

(OOC: Check succeeded)

As Bakur prayed to Lahal, he felt better, his muscles less sore. Soothing waves of comfort washed over him and then, a brief sound; “… is up Ceres? Where should we go?”. It was Jonathan’s voice.

The sound was faint, but he heard it. He actually heard something.

Meanwhile Kiph focused on Ceres’ hand. The big woman was holding his hand, though he had no idea what she was trying to do. Her mouth moved relentlessly though, but he could not hear her voice. Possibly he would never hear her voice ever again.

Tent TownHalf an hour before nightfall AROOOO-AROOOO-AROOOO-AROOOO, an alarm wailed across the barren wasteland, its haunting, forlorn sound making the nomads exit their tents to get back into the rain. A halogen spotlight had been hung from the council tent and right now it was the only manmade source of light in an otherwise oppressing darkness.

Khethak “The Barter” used the flat of his meaty hand to shield his eyes from the lashing rain. “Blessed Father in your Desert Exile, I thought my day had come!” he shouted, other nomads shouting in agreement or whistling in the nomad way to acknowledge his words and show their agreement. But the brief moment of joy and relief was soon gone. For a huge, black ship had crash landed into the Faculty and then plowed its way straight through town, before it finally slid to a halt by the south wall. Occasional flames burst from the metallic structure, only to slowly retreat, pushed back by the torrential rain. The devastation was terrible, and before the strange alarm had sounded, the wailing of women and men left behind was the only thing they heard. Already men were saddling their horses and pushing their carts. A bounty such as this seldom, or never, rained from the sky. Of course there were casualties; many had lost their hearing and some had died, but nomad casualties were minimal. Khethak smiled as he rubbed his hand. This night he would harvest the just reward of his years of labor. Peeking one last time on the gargantuan vessel, the beefy merchant squealed with delight. Finally luck shone upon him.

**************************The Tunnel NetworkThere was a loud crack, then another; the unmistakable thunder of gunfire. From further down the corridor came several hisses, then a long, tormented human squeal, almost like the sound pigs make when they are killed.

“Accursed! Accursed! By the debt of M’Lwani the Unfaithful!”.

Running footsteps were heard splashing through the water, coming ever closer to the group’s location. Ralkhara noticed skittering, splashing sounds too; and they mostly came from the same location as the "more human sounding" splashes.

(OOC: There will soon come an update to this post, featuring what emerges from the tunnels ahead. First I will give you guys time to act however)

"Okay. Officially no good. Jon, do you know anything about man-eating critters stored here? Well, anything of use when fighting them, to be exact?" Listening for a reply, she fished out one black plastic tube from her pack. She had been keeping those for... well, emergencies, having traded them from a spacer for an infernal price. Well, this was an emergency, after ,all, wasn't it?

She turned to Kiph, to his blood-smeared face and shining yes. What was behind them? She wasn't sure if she wanted to know, but...Raising a finger to catch his attention, she removed the casing, then the protective layer, and produced an injector, the contents a non-descrip white fluid. Nanites, billions, dormant yet ready to work upon command. "He's not sorely wounded, a partial dose should suffice" she thought, as she first showed the injector to Kiph, and a prick later sent a cloud of minute machines to restore his hearing.

She patted Bakur too, pointing to the injector and then to his ears. A blank stare of his later, she grabbed his meaty arm and let him have a shot too. A little was still left - for whomever gets scratched. Bitten. Mauled.God? Why do people break so easily anyway?

The nearing splashing sounds alerted her though - whatever it was, it was better faced with steel in hand. Trolblandir slid from its hook into her hands, the familiar weight adding a lot to security."Jon, you have nothing other to do than to cover behind us, stay alive and tell us anything we might need. I sure won't be running off to the warden to report an information leak. Would you be of that infinite kindness? It might save our hides and souls immortal."

Logged

"Captain, the buttocks are moving from the pink into the red and purple spectrum! We cannot maintain this rate of spanking any longer!"

PoisonAlchemist: Man Muro, you boost my confidence and then you just go crush it with a heartbreaking work of staggering genius.Pariah: Don't tell him things like that, if his head gets any bigger he'll float off like a weather ballon :p

Ralkhara nodded wordlessly to Badbloods words, then glanced up at the manmade grooves once more, "If things get too dicey, there is a trapdoor up there; we may be able to retreat through it." With that said, the nomad clasped on to Jonathan's arm and all-but dragged the man back down the tunnel which Ceres and himself had just come from, stopping some twelve feet back and pushing the man behind him. A suitable distance now gained, Ralkhara turned and kneeled in the inch-deep water, raising his crossbow to aim in the direction of the passageway with the infernal yelling and the hurried skittering.

Skittering sounds... half-eaten faces of a corpse with two-inch ravines in its body... Speaking loud enough for the others in the group to hear, he asked in an almost absent manner, "Has anyone else heard the story of the giant rats of the Ritshaur plains?"

As Ralkhara led Jonathan to the rear there was another, weaker tremble. The nomad scout fell to one knee, aiming his crossbow in the direction of the presumed attack.

“The sins of the ancients had no limits” Jonathan began, his voice quivering with fear. “Nano-technology, radioactivity, human genomes, you name it. Whatever they discovered, be it in the name of good or evil, they always managed to twist it to more sinister purposes”

The screams drew closer, as did the sound of running feet. Jonathan gulped as the group readied themselves for combat.

“In the end they finally did it! They finally found a way to destroy everything they had spent thousands of years building. Some books say it has always been so; humanity strives to evolve, then in one cataclysmic move they shatter everything. Over and over again this happens, and it has no end”

The screams were close now. One final gunshot resounded, and then a horrible shriek cut short, followed by a disgusting gurgling sound. Then it was finally quiet, Jonathan’s voice dropping to a whisper.

“Nanites carrying mutagens. Mutine they called it, an agent that horribly twisted those affected” Jonathan whispered quickly now, in a conspiratorial manner. “Instead of reconstructing damaged tissue, these nanites changed the user, reconstructing his genetic material into something else. You have probably all heard the nightmare stories when you were children; how the very armies of hell arrived at the city gates, their infernal cries tearing through the dark as they butchered innocents in a night of blood and fury”

In the shadows something moved, and the men under Ceres’ command felt sinister eyes fall upon them, their gaze full of brutal hunger.

“While the avatars of Radiatos proved our undoing, I think you are about to witness a horror of the ancients. I think we are about…”

Jonathan quit speaking as the first mutant beast came into view. It was a twisted thing, its skin a dark hue of grey tinted with red. Blood vessels were readily visible on the humanoid figure, which crouched as it advanced. Its face was a blasphemic mockery of humanity, the skin around the mouth horribly retracted, displaying sharpened teeth and pale white gums. Another nightmare fiend entered into the light and this one tilted its head back, hissing loudly at the roof. Their bodies were those of men, only the arms were longer and instead of hands, they had organic blades grafted onto them.

“…These are the G’Kraun Enfataht, the killers of the ancients. If you have any prayers, now is the time, for I sense our deaths approaching”

On that note the two beasts attacked, their claws and blades clicking against the concrete floor, splashing water in every direction.

"Thanks for the tip, Jon!" Ceres smiled. "I was worrying about getting bored!"Bracing herself for the foe's assault, she stood in the beast's way. Preventing injury was also a doctor's task, wasn't it?

"Side by side folks!" she called out as she raised Trolblandir and swung it low to keep the beasts at bay. "We're no easy prey!" Teeth bared, she felt the adrenaline fill her bloodstream like liquid fire. Do no harm, they say. The theory is nice... but this day, some heads would roll.

Logged

"Captain, the buttocks are moving from the pink into the red and purple spectrum! We cannot maintain this rate of spanking any longer!"

Beneath his face wrappings, Ralkhara frowned at Ceres' assured attitude - these creatures... such horrors made the nomads stomach churn. Still, before Ceres could charge forth and get in the line of fire, Ralkhara sighted down the crossbow and fired at the second beast which emerged from the darkness of the passageway. Hmph - and here he thought - or hoped - that it was just giant rats. No such luck.Without waiting to see if his crossbow bolt hit, Ralkhara snagged another bolt from his quiver and began cranking back his crossbow. While he did this, the man stood and took three more steps back. If they cannot reach you, they cannot attack. For every step they take forward, take one back. Ralkhara repeated this mantra quietly in his head. While reloading his crossbow, he took a glance up at the assailants, both to see if his bolt hit, and to see if he could notice any weak spots in their flesh to aim his next attack at.

What bothered Kiph as mush as anything, was how calm Jonathan seemed to be in the face of these coming monstrosities! He disliked this man, too friendly with Ceres, for his own good. What? And now he was feinting? cowardly vermin! Kiph thought...his mind was getting unwound again.

Kiph readied his hard-won, new, blue dart gun and fired at the closest slavering horror, but not before he quickly sliced his palm with a knife, letting his fresh blood flow anew, a trickle as it was.

He noticed Ralkhara's shoot and withdrawal manuevers and emulated the man, firing the unfamiliar weapon, and wondering what the "blue stuff" would do.

Were you going to use this against Kiph, Tiphala? he mused as he gaped at the quickly approaching beasts.

"We are like brothers, you and I" , he screamed to the creature he aimed for...."We are like brothers! I have been "hurt" too!

PoisonAlchemist: Man Muro, you boost my confidence and then you just go crush it with a heartbreaking work of staggering genius.Pariah: Don't tell him things like that, if his head gets any bigger he'll float off like a weather ballon :p

With deadly precision Ralkhara let the quarrel go and a fraction of a second later the hissing mutant screamed in pain and anger. It was piercing sound, causing Ralkhara and his partners some discomfort. Half a second later Kiph fired his blood smeared dart at the first creature. The dart struck true, hitting the fiend in the chest.

While the quarrel caused the second creature to fall, sliding and sprawling on the watery floor with the quarrel embedded just above the knee, the first critter seemed unaffected by the dart. As both Ralkhara and Kiph slowly retreated, Ceres steadfastedly held her ground, Trolblandir challenging the mutant advance.

Bakur still tried to make sense of it all. His hearing had fully returned and he had drawn his wrenches, but he stood behind Ceres, the heavy handed slashing of her two handed sword denying him passage to the front.

Although he couldnt quite tell the effect, if any, that his blood-smeared dart had on the morbid, charging abomination before him, Kiph quickly switched to his machete anyway, wiping the cruel, thick blade across his palm, coating it with his own blood, and feeling more comfortable with his weapon of choice.

"I will protect you, Ceres", he warbled and cast a mournful glance at the warrior queen, sidling up side by side with her as she had requested. Kiph even had time to cast Bakur a spiteful look, before he yelled once more at the revolting creature before him.

"I know your pain!" he shouted incomprehensibly, still trying to reason with the pitiable creatures, victims of vile experiments, no doubt, like him.

PoisonAlchemist: Man Muro, you boost my confidence and then you just go crush it with a heartbreaking work of staggering genius.Pariah: Don't tell him things like that, if his head gets any bigger he'll float off like a weather ballon :p

Ralkhara backtracked five more paces, stepping over the fainted body of Jonathan (And glancing down to make sure the mans face wasn't under the shallow water) as he finished cranking back the string of his crossbow and locking a second quarrel into place. His first shot had temporarily downed one of the beasts - good. Ralkhara spared a thought and a frown for Kiph - the crazed young man had slit his palm open and was coating his weapon with his blood.

Bakur stretched his jaw and gulped air, trying to pop his now-hearing ears. Alas, with the eardrum still broken, it did little. But at least he could hear. "Lahal'hu akbar," he whispered in thanks.

And with little time to spare. The faint, dull groans of the mutants were certainly much louder than he was hearing. The shot seemed to dull his feeling - for the moment, at least. Now important matters had to be attended to. Ceres, the mad she-wolf she was, blocked any chance for a direct hit at the freaks. But without knowing how many mutants there were, it was difficult to say how long she would stand her ground before advancing or falling back. Bakur decided that he would be prepared either way. Standing only a few feet behind her, he stepped into a horse-rider's stance and brought his blade back, the pommel an inch or so behind his skull. The simple but sharp tip of Siful'lahal pointed directly at the oncoming mutants. If he was quick enough, he might even be able to get in a stab after she swung...

With a loud hiss the first critter threw itself at Ceres, its clawed feet scraping against the watery floor. Kiph had squeezed up alongside the big woman, so she had less space to wield Trolblandir, yet she managed to swing at it, connecting with the right arm as it slashed at her chest. The heavy handed slash cut the arm straight off at the elbow. The G'Kraun screamed in pain, if possible even louder than its felled companion, and a second later, from somewhere far away they heard multiple screams in return. It would seem these two were not alone down here.

With a desperate swing it slashed at Ceres with its remaining grafted blade. It had lost its foothold, as the G'Kraun relied upon their arms for both movement and attack, and its strike hit Ceres in her right ankle, cutting to the bone. With a loud grunt and a string of curses, Ceres threw herself back using her remaining good foot.

Then Kiph ferociously attacked the fallen mutant beast, hitting its shoulder solidly with is machete. The machete cut through the thick hide biting into its flesh.

Meanwhile Bakur had the opening he had been waiting for. Ceres had thrown herself backwards, nearly colliding with the Train People warrior in the process. A flow of crimson fluids gushed forth from her ankle, but the tough medic merely cursed and tried to halt the bleeding. She had lost Trolblandir in her fall, the blade now inaccessible under the closest G'Kraun Enfathath killer beast.

A stab with the great sword was awkward, Bakur knew that, and with the unexpected opening he reversed the blade in his hands, swinging it instead. Of course he had to avoid Kiph, for the maddened nomad would probably block some of his swing, but he'd have to take the chance. If that beast got another chance, it was no telling who it would cut open next. With a mighty swing he aimed for the head, but the crazy Kiph got in the way and all he could do to avoid shortening the nomad some 30 centimeters was to lift Saiful'lahal in the air. The blade hit the wall with full force, sending fragments of mortar and plaster in every direction.

<OOC, book keeping phase>Ceres hit the creature with her attack (70% - 15% (Kiph) = 55%) She hit it in the right arm (melee location 13) for 2D8+1D6 damage (5+4+5 = 14 damage... The arm had 5 hit points and some armour points. It is now cut off).

Then the G'Kraun attacked Ceres with its remaining good arm, skill 60% - 10% (pain) and hit. It did 3 + 4 = 7 damage, cutting to the bone and nearly breaking it (1D6+1D6 (claw + strength bonus)). Ceres now has a bleeding wound that will continue to bleed until tended to.

Then Kiph attacked with his blood smeared machete. The nomad hit for 3 damage (2+1), enough to penetrate armor. This means the critter is now poisoned and the poison (POT 8, onset time 1 round) will be matched against the creature's CON (13) on the resistance table in the middle of next round.

Last in the round Bakur swung Saiful'Lahal at the felled enemy. With his 75% base skill and + 30% (felled enemy), he stilled missed barely (due to Kiph in the way -15%). He hit the wall for 2D8+1D6 damage (7 + 7 + 4 = 18 damage).

Round two starts now, and Kiph is the first kid on the block, followed by Ralkhara, the G'Kraun, Bakur and lastly Ceres. (We now follow DEX initiative, while the first round followed charge rules)</OOC>

Kiph howled and leapt towards Ceres once more, machete slicing into whichever creature was now closer. The Mad Fatebringer was not used to foes living long after his virulent blood mixed with their own, and blithely ignored the fallen beast, instead scrambling to retrieve Ceres great blade, in the chaos of the melee.

PoisonAlchemist: Man Muro, you boost my confidence and then you just go crush it with a heartbreaking work of staggering genius.Pariah: Don't tell him things like that, if his head gets any bigger he'll float off like a weather ballon :p

Leaping towards Ceres, Kiph ducked under Bakur's blade as the brawny warrior pulled it loose from the wall. The G'Kraun Enfathath was between his legs, clawing at the floor, blood gushing from the stump of its destroyed arm. Hacking savagely he hit the neck, burying into it. There was a crack and suddenly the creature fell limply to the floor.

Ralkhara was crouching besides Jonathan. The prone man had his mouth and nostrils barely an inch above the waterline, his breathing causing slight ripples in the water. Having fully rewinded his crossbow, Ralkhara once more looked ahead and noticed Kiph's expert dispatching of the armless mutant. In that instant Jonathan awoke, his arm gripping Ralkhara by the leg.

"We must go!" he whispered, his voice coarse.

Bakur had gotten his sword loose now and was ready for battle, but Kiph had killed the closest G'Kraun and the second was scrambling to its knees, hissing loudly at the band of wasteland heroes.

"Nooooooooooooo!" it hissed as Kiph chopped deep into the neck of its mate. "Nooooooo! Cuuuuuuuursssssed huuuuuumaaaan!". Its voice was eerie and deep, more akin to the whisper of some ghost, than a sound made by a living being.

As Ceres tried to stagger the bleeding from her ankle, Kiph tried to lift her sword. By everything that is holy, this sword is HEAVY! the nomad thought, but still he managed lifting it, the huge blade wobbling slightly back and forth as he did so.

<OOC> comment to random musings: 1 - Yep. That is why they only got -15% from their to hit roll. Understand that you are fighting alongside huge, brawny, Conan-y warriors wielding nearly TWO meter long blades! These tunnels are 2-3 meters wide, making fighting alongside them difficult. Had you tried a stunt like that alongside Bakur, I'd have tipped you off more, but fighting alongside Ceres... I think the nomad still would have stood there, showing his bravery and maskulinity to the big woman. Oh, and had Ceres (huge woman with DEX 6) tried the same, she would have made it WAY more difficult for Bakur.

2 - Machete is a smaller weapon, true. But your rolls have also been unlucky. Both with the air pressure dart gun and with the machete. Those weapons are EXCELLENT against unarmoured opponents, like normal humans. They are also way more silent, and easy to use in your field of specialty: silent killing. Try sneaking into some place with a claymore...

Battle:Kiph hit the mutant in hit location 19 (melee - head). He did 6+1 damage, easily penetrating armour and bringing its head HP to 0. In addition the mutant failed its resistance roll (it had a 75% chance to resist the poison), bringing its total pool of hit points to -4. It is dead, dead, dead!

Kiph also lifted Ceres' sword. It has minimum strength requirement of 13 to be used effectively, and Kiph has strength 11. Hence the wobbliness and a -10% at all attacks due to inferior strength. He also starts at half his machete skill BEFORE subtracting the -10%. (Which means he has a 25% chance to hit with the thing).

The remaining G'Kraun is on its knee, sliding towards you in a suicidal cha... slide. It won't reach you this round, and should you choose you could slowly withdraw, peppering it with missiles, and it would never reach you</OOC>

*Chink* Ralkhara's crossbow made a clicking sound as the crank was fully pulled back and the string was taut. Ralkhara slipped a bolt into place and lowered once more to a crouch, raising the bow and sighting down it. Although he knew the first beast was more of a threat right now, the fact was that it was in too close a proximity to the others to risk firing at - if he missed he may injure his allies! So Ralkhara instead turned his sights upon the second one, which was wailing pitifully and thrashing violently in the inch-deep water. In the back of his mind, Ralkhara registered the additional screeches of more of these beasts in the background.And then his comrades fell the first of the abominations, its head bieng cleaved from its body by Kiph's weapon. Once shifting to the side of the tunnel for a clearer shoot, Ralkhara pressed the trigger. The bolt was loosed.

Once again not stopping to see if his quarrel hit, the wrapped nomad stood and backtracked another three paces, speaking as he did so, "As soon as these aren't a danger, we should climb out through that trapdoor above!" He didn't want to have to face any more of these things than he had to - And conveniently, Jonathan had woken up! He won't have to be lugged up by Bakur or Ceres! The nomad quietly agreed with Jonathans urgings.

To the side, Ralkhara took a moment to muse over the fighting styles - he had studied his comrades before, and found them very different. Kiph, obviously, used his rage to his advantage, striking fast and hard with almost no care for his own safety. Ceres tended to swing around her great sword with brute force, hacking down her foes. Bakur was fairly similar in styling to Ceres, though he seemed almost ritualistic with his swings, as though with every sway of his blade he were making a statement. As for Ralkhara? Patience. Timing. Breathing.

The quarrel left the crossbow and after a quick flight it buried deep into the chest of the other G'Kraun, stopping its eerie wheezing. The momentum knocked it off its feet, launching it backwards one meter into the water.

Ralkhara continued keeping an eye on it, but after a couple of seconds it was clear that the thing was not going to rise again anytime soon. In the distance the infernal screaming and hissing seemed to draw closer.

"I'd say we have one minute or less until the rest of them are here" Jonathan said, his voice low and quivering.

"These mutants number only the G'Kraun Enfathath, the hunters of the pack. I... I think they might be on their way to the academy" the young scientist swallowed hard after he spoke, then he began to climb to the partially hidden hatch in the roof.

<OOC>Ralkhara would have missed had it not been for the point blank range rule. He rolled 12 (missile - chest) for 1 + 4 + 2 = 7 damage, bringing the creature to a total of 2 hit points on the total pool. It is now unconscious (anyone studying it will see it breathing).</OOC>

"Time to go!" Ralkhara hobbled forward and wrenched his two Quarrels out from the barely-breathing creature's flesh, and gave a quick glance for anything of value the beasts may have had on their person. He motioned for the others to follow himself and Jonathan as he grasped the handholds which rose up to the trapdoor above him, but not before hooking his bow onto his belt once again.His knee burned like wildfire - from moving from the moisture to climbing - with wet clothes, no less - but he was not going to stop until he was certain he could risk a short break. He hoped what lay in store for them back on the surface was not worse than that which was down here...

Bakur stepped past the retreating Ceres. The beast was still breathing, but his steel would solve that. "Burn in Jahhanam!" he growled just before swinging Siful'lahal down on the mutant's neck. Not bothering to see if the strike landed, he turned back and headed for the trap door. He glanced down at Ceres' wounded ankle as he passed by her. The brackish water trailed even darker behind her, definitely blood and lots of it. "Hurry," he grunted at her. They would have to tend the wound quickly if she wanted to keep her foot. Though Bakur cared little for her person, Ceres' medical skills and steel were usually worth putting up with her.

Bakur's blow separated the mutant's head from the rest of the body. The head flew into the air and landed by Ceres, splashing through the water and hitting her good ankle.

"I need to be out of this tunnel to clean and sew my wound" she said before kicking the head out of the way. The group's medic was quickly offered several helping hands and staggered her way to the ladder.

Meanwhile Ralkhara had already opened the hatch, invoking a metallic, creaking sound. A small cloud of dust and earth rained down on the nomad pathfinder. The hatch had obviously not been used in a while. As if in reply to the creaking sounds, there were several hisses and shrieks further up the tunnel. The G'Kraun Enfathath had picked up speed and weren't far away.

"Hurry, they are making their way to the G'Kraun Kaltharth in the Faculty! We must get up and out of their way!" Jonathan whispered and then clambered up through the hatch. Once up he offered a hand to Ceres. The hurt medic received help from both Bakur and Jonathan, and got up relatively quickly. Bakur followed her up shortly thereafter.

Noticing Kiph glancing in the direction where Surgical Damien had been slaughtered with all his valuables, Jonathan hissed.

"There is not enough time for that. Get up here the before you die!"

Meanwhile Ralkhara was exploring their surroundings. It looked like some kind of cellar, but it had been emptied a long time ago. There were huge rifts in both ceilings and the roof, but no light shone through from the above. Judging from the stale air, it had been long since anyone vented the place too. There was nothing of particular interest in the room, save for a stairwell leading up, and large wooden crate standing in a corner.

(OOC: Bakur hit with enough damage to sever the head. Your characters would estimate the arrival of the hunter pack in about 20-40 seconds)

Ralkhara spied the crate in the corner, then peered back to the trapdoor he had just come from - ah, almost time to rest! Waving Bakur over in his direction, he moved over to that crate, "Come, Bakur! Help me push this box on top of the opening!" He didn't know if those creatures could climb, but Ralkhara was not one for assumptions. Now if only the rest would get up here, they could block their path and Moruz could take a moment to work the kinks out of his knee! There would be plenty of time to check what was in that crate AFTER they had used its weight to block the trapdoor.

Not until Ceres was safely on her way up the hatch, bad ankle and all.

Quivering with adrenaline and fear, Kiph dared glance once more down the tunnel, hoping perversely, despite himself, to catch sight of one more creature, but something finally sparked in his head and he scampered up behind Ceres effortlessly. While watching Ralkhara and Bakur push a heavy crate across the empty chamber, Kiph examined the staircase, and after sniffing the air, waltzed up gingerly, dart gun once more in hand, each step deliberate.

PoisonAlchemist: Man Muro, you boost my confidence and then you just go crush it with a heartbreaking work of staggering genius.Pariah: Don't tell him things like that, if his head gets any bigger he'll float off like a weather ballon :p

"Mmm... Guys... The artifact..." Ceres looked upon Bakur and Ralkhara as they sealed the hatch with a large wooden crate. “It is no longer with us! I think we left it down in the tunnels!” Ceres frowned as she led the surgical needle into the flesh and back out, over and over again. She had been treating her wound since she entered the room and soon it would be all stitched up.

"s**t, guys! We forgot a da-amned nuclear energy device in a tunnel filled with those mutant slayer beasts! Even worse, they are searching for their juggernaut, the G'Kraun Kaltharth itself! The da-amned pack leader! The number one bad ass, King G’Kraun incarnate!" Jonathan swore aloud, his true heritage becoming evident with the cursing. As if in reply to his outburst came several ecstatic shrieks and hisses from below. Then there was a thump at the hatch, the crate moving visibly. There was a second thump, and a third, but then the noise abated and the crate held its own against the mutants below.

Meanwhile Ralkhara had forced open the lid of the crate and was peeking inside. “Uhhm…” the nomad said. “Uhhmm… Spare parts. Cogwheels, wires, aluminum plates, the works! This crate here is filled with spare parts! Mostly the aluminum kind though! That explains why the crate was so darn heavy, Bakur!” Ralkhara blurted.

*****************

Meanwhile Kiph had reached the top of the circular stairwell. The door was slightly ajar and peeking through, Kiph noticed some sort of garage. There was a truck in there for sure, and by the sound of it an engine was running. There was a motorcycle there too, with a side wagon on which a small machine gun had been mounted, an ammunition belt inserted and ready for use.

This is the city watch garage. This is where the Warden keeps machines to be used by him and his band of watchers.

There was another sound too. In the distance an alarm sounded. *AROOO-AROOOOO-AROOO*. Red light occasionally danced across the garage, casting dramatic shadows and colors over the motorbike and the part of the truck that was visible.

Kneeling down Kiph smelt the smoke in the air… Smoke, but something else too! It was the smell of wet iron… No, it wasn’t that. It was the smell of freshly spilled blood. Looking down, the assassin noticed a crimson fluid trickling under the door, dripping down onto uppermost step of the stairs.

“The G’Kraun are divided into different roles, as modeled by their ancient creators. They were designed to be the perfect instrument of war: Troops whose only purpose is to kill and instill dread, but whose tactics and organization also means they are tough opponents… at the very least. On their own the Enfathath are only shock troopers, the melee carnivores created to instill dread and death amongst the enemy. The Kaltharth is another matter entirely. They are the pack leaders, their lords of war!” Jonathan spoke again. It had become evident that, while tight lipped under normal circumstances, the scientist was quite talkative when filled with dread.

“We had one captured a while ago. A rare occasion that, and ever since, this herd has been circling the city, sensing the distress of their master. We had an entire tribe of wastelanders hunt them down but, it seems, it was a bad decision. Problem is that the Kaltharth are intelligent. Too intelligent! While created sterile, the Kalthart, and possibly the fabled G’Kraun Seers, found a way for the race to procreate. Thus the G’Kraun survived their creators, the ancient horrors living on to this very day.

Meanwhile Ralkhara was searching the walls and floor. He quickly noticed a partially concealed air vent high up on the wall.

The curious nomad put his hand to an ear and tried to listen. There were sounds in there! The sounds resembled weak metallic crawling and some eerie voice hissing to itself. The pathfinder doubted that the sounds came from a source close by, but there was no doubt the G’Kraun had found the ventilation system and was attempting to travel through it.

(OOC: A number of checks failed. These are the ones that succeeded: Kiph - Power x 2, listen, spot hidden and biology. Ralkhara: Listen, Ceres: Medicine.

One more thing: Ralkhara noticed a full mechanic’s tool belt complete with a full set of tools in the spare parts crate. It is up to Ralkhara whether he wants to share this news with the rest of the party. The belt contains manual and automatic tools to be used for repairing. Of special interest is the diagnostics tool, which can be set up to work with his wrist PDA over short wireless networks, and enables him to hack into engines (The PDA can normally “just” hack into electronic door systems, computers and the like with a successful computer use check. The mechanic tools contain the proper interfaces for hacking into engines as well. Of course they are normally used to generate a diagnostic over engine problems, which require no check (menu selection only). The automatic diagnostic tool cannot be used to hack without some sort of external computer attached, like the wrist PDA))